London Taxi Attempted Assault - Page 2

Zog The Undeniable <hrothgar19@yahoo.com> wrote

> Given the state of physical fitness of the average London
> cabby, I think I'd have gone somewhere he couldn't follow
> in the cab, then hoped he'd get out for a fight.

Hmmm maybe but I wouldn't want to encounter one of the
several cabbies that appear to spend the first half of the
day at the local gym in Canning Town. I don't think they are
all just Muscle Marys!

I guess though that people with that sort of self discipline
don't go around being yobbish anyway.

M

Tim Hall <timhall@nospamtoday.clara.co.uk>typed

> On Fri, 09 Jul 2004 17:19:40 +0100, anonymous coward
> <anonymous.coward@nospam.nowhere> wrote:

> >How are taxis regulated? A particular company often beeps
> >their horn outside my window as late as 3.00 AM, so I
> >have an interest. I've got as far as the yellow pages,
> >but didn't find anything that looked like a regulatory
> >agency.

> Outside of that London, local authority is often the body
> (my mum did a stint or two as a borough councillor and was
> on the taxi licensing committe.) I suspect London has
> different rules.

TfL here. Dunno how interested they'd be. Maybe ourKen needs
another letter...

--
Helen D. Vecht: helenvecht@zetnet.co.uk Edgware.

Simonb wrote:
> Ian Smith wrote:
>
>>No, but they might do a DNA analysis of a sample obtained
>>from someone who attempted murder and fled the scene.
>>Clearly, it _was_ attempted murder rather than accident,
>>from teh comments of teh driver.
>
> I bet the police would see it more as threatening
> behavior, though. I agree with you; using a car in this
> manner is akin to murderous.

Not much to add to previous comments, but don't let them fob
you off saying they can do nothing. You have enough info to
identify the driver, and the police can 'have a word' at the
very least.

No doubt said taxi driver would be equally aggrieved if you
were keeping a safe 1.2m plus from a row of parked cars, and
thereby prevented him from overtaking. But you should, you
know. Another time you might not be able to miss the idiot.

Colin McKenzie

> How are taxis regulated? A particular company often beeps
> their horn outside my window as late as 3.00 AM, so I have
> an interest. I've got as far as the yellow pages, but
> didn't find anything that looked like a regulatory agency.

Normally the local council. Up here in Manchester some
annoyed person had a merry time reporting the beeping
drivers to the council. It worked for him so will probably
work for you if you can be bothered to get out of bed at 3am
and note down their registration plates.

"Matt G" <mattjgordon@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:eef3a126.0407090554.4be3ac15@posting.google.com...
>
> A further 20 seconds later, I realised that the same
> vehicle was pulling up behind me and that the driver was
> hurling abuse at me through the open window. Terrified, I
> pulled my bicycle onto the kerb again, in fear that he
> would attempt to run me down, and called 999 on my mobile
> as quickly as possible. He then did a U turn and headed
> south along the Outer Circle. All I can remember about
> what he shouted was one line: "You don't like it much when
> someone tries it on

>

Doesn't sound unusual for a London Black Cab. I'm surprised
another one did pull up to give him a hand.

I doubt you'll get the police to do anything.

On 9 Jul 2004 06:54:11 -0700, Matt G <mattjgordon@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Any advice anyone can give me on how to pursue a rather
> nasty incident that happened to me last night? The police
> say that since the witnesses' names and addresses were not
> collected there is nothing they can do.
[...]

I was once run off the road by a bus in Oxford. The driver
deliberately pulled closer to the kerb as he pulled
alongside me. He seemed to take offence at me passing him
(safely) on the inside (using a bicycle lane) while he was
in a stationary queue. He made contact with my arm and I
came close to coming off. I went to the police with details,
but no witnesses. They advised me that taking formal action
against him would be difficult but as they had the time and
the bus number they could, and did, contact the bus company
and issue an informal warning. It might be worth asking if
the police can at least make such an informal approach.

Colin

"Colin Blackburn" <colin.blackburn@durham.ac.uk> wrote in message
newspsa0n3uv2yxrafp@nntphost.dur.ac.uk...
> On 9 Jul 2004 06:54:11 -0700, Matt G
> <mattjgordon@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Any advice anyone can give me on how to pursue a rather
> > nasty incident that happened to me last night? The
> > police say that since the witnesses' names and addresses
> > were not collected there is nothing they can do.
> [...]
>

> I was once run off the road by a bus in Oxford. The driver
> deliberately pulled closer to the kerb as he pulled
> alongside me.

...

O.K so far. But could you see enough to be sure he wasn't
moving closer to the curb simply to avoid another vehicle
on his offside ? A lorry parked on the other side of the
street maybe ? Another line of traffic ?

...

> He seemed to take offence at me passing him (safely) on
> the inside (using a bicycle lane) while he was in a
> stationary queue.

...

But this is pure conjecture on your part. You can't possibly
know that. That would also seem to imply that he's never
been passed by cyclists before on his inside. Which for a
bus driver would be rather strange, to say the least.

...

> He made contact with my arm and I came close to
> coming off.

...

If you don't see it coming yes. But that seems to suggest he
moved across sharply. I have drops and a mircycle which
would get a nudge every other month while riding in Central
London, among slower moving traffic admittedly, if it wasn't
for the use of preventive measures.

Did you actually make eye contact with the driver in his
near side mirror ? Are you sure he actually saw you? That's
no excuse admittedly, but its maybe more comforting than
automatically assuming evil intent.

As you sensed the bus drawing closer did you try and take
any preventive measures? Did you for instance bang on the
side with side of the bus, with your hand ? This is a useful
thing to learn as it immediately alerts the driver, if he
didn't already know, the passengers, and anyone on the
pavemnet at the time, to the fact that something is going
on. It's a more neutral sound than shouting which can came
from any source and immediately denotes anger and
unreasonableness. Don't be reluctant to do this to cars
either where necessary, but maybe not quite so loud or
angrily. They're in the wrong, end of story. Normally a
shrug to them afterwards in the near side mirror will do the
trick. After they recover from the shock. Although learning
to unhook and wield your Citadel lock within two seconds
flat can come in useful too.

One way to proceed when riding a bike is to assume that
you're invisble and that lorries, cars, and buses simply
can't see you. And act accordingly. With anything extra
coming as a bonus. You'll be safer that way, regardless of
the rights and wrongs of it.

Curious

I went to the police with details, but no witnesses.
> They advised me that taking formal action against him
> would be difficult but as they had the time and the bus
> number they could, and did, contact the bus company and
> issue an informal warning. It might be worth asking
if
> the police can at least make such an informal approach.
>
> Colin

On Mon, 12 Jul 2004 10:36:06 +0100, Dr Curious <curiosity238@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>
> "Colin Blackburn" <colin.blackburn@durham.ac.uk> wrote
> in message
>> I was once run off the road by a bus in Oxford. The
>> driver deliberately pulled closer to the kerb as he
>> pulled alongside me.
>
> ...
>
> O.K so far.

This incident is well in the past and has been mentioned
here before, shortly after it happened. I repeat the story
briefly only to suggest that one course of action is for the
original poster to ask the police take an informal approach.
I do not intend to discuss the incident itself with a
f*ckwit of your order.

Colin

"Frank X" <frank_spam@yahoo.ie> wrote in message
news:2lf08dFbqsnkU1@uni-berlin.de...
>
> "Matt G" <mattjgordon@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:eef3a126.0407090554.4be3ac15@posting.google.com...
> >
> > A further 20 seconds later, I realised that the same
> > vehicle was pulling up behind me and that the driver was
> > hurling abuse at me through the open window. Terrified,
> > I pulled my bicycle onto the kerb again, in fear that he
> > would attempt to run me down, and called 999 on my
> > mobile as quickly as possible. He then did a U turn and
> > headed south along the Outer Circle. All I can remember
> > about what he shouted was one line: "You don't like it
> > much when someone tries it on

> >
>
> Doesn't sound unusual for a London Black Cab. I'm
> surprised another one
did
> pull up to give him a hand.
>
> I doubt you'll get the police to do anything.
>
Just found this story in Saturday's Irish Times which is
sort of relevant. A Dublin taxi driver has been prosecuted
on a charge of "failing to behave in a civil manner" towards
a passenger. Apparently when the passenger asked for their
change he became abusive. She complained to the Carriage
Office (which has a Garda attached to it) and the case was
prosecuted. The driver (who has a previous conviction for
assault) didn't turn up to court and the judge said "it was
too serious a matter for a penalty to be imposed in (his)
absence". So he's issued a warrant for his arrest. I think
in the OP's encounter the taxi driver was definitely failing
to behave in a civil manner. Lucky for him (and us) he's not
in Dublin!

tony R.

In article <2lf4i8FbloooU1@uni-berlin.de>,
curiosity238@hotmail.com says...
> > I was once run off the road by a bus in Oxford. The
> > driver deliberately pulled closer to the kerb as he
> > pulled alongside me.
>
> O.K so far. But could you see enough to be sure he wasn't
> moving closer to the curb simply to avoid another
> vehicle on his offside ? A lorry parked on the other
> side of the street maybe ? Another line of traffic ?

I see what you're getting at but... no excuse. If you need
to avoid a vehicle that is in your lane and can do so by
changing lanes then there is a procedure to follow. It
begins "Mirror, Signal". Had the OP been a car there would
almost certainly have been significant damage to both the
car and bus.

> > He seemed to take offence at me passing him (safely) on
> > the inside (using a bicycle lane) while he was in a
> > stationary queue.
>
> But this is pure conjecture on your part. You can't
> possibly know that. That would also seem to imply that
> he's never been passed by cyclists before on his inside.
> Which for a bus driver would be rather strange, to say
> the least.

I've been given grief by bus drivers for doing this before.
I'm now a strong enough cyclist to overtake rather than
undertake on most occasions but sometimes I get caught out.
I actually managed to almost replicate this on Sunday.

Two lanes at the junction. The left one becomes a bus / taxi
/ cycle lane, the right is "normal". It's a sunday, so there
are cars parked in the bus lane, but the lane is wide enough
to allow a cyclist through with room to spare. A bus is next
to me in the right hand lane. The lights change and we move
off. The bus matches my speed, pulls slightly forward (I'm
now about halfway down its length). Signals left and leaving
now time, pulls into a bus stop. A number of people in the
bus and at the bus stop learnt a whole new manner of
swearing as I locked my rear wheel and headed kerbwards in
an attempt to avoid being mashed. The bus stopped, I went
round the front (still screaming) and cycled off down the
road, shaking slightly. The driver had to be at least
partially aware of me, as we had made eye contact while sat
at the junction.

The resultant adrenaline rush meant that I shot straight
past the turning I was meant to take and had to turn around
and ride back up the hill.

> If you don't see it coming yes. But that seems to suggest
> he moved across sharply. I have drops and a mircycle which
> would get a nudge every other month while riding in
> Central London, among slower moving traffic admittedly, if
> it wasn't for the use of preventive measures.

Why? Why should I (or anyone else) have to cycle
defensively? I got caught out, but these days I tend to take
a lane as mine where possible and dictate when / where I
will be overtaken. I would be less agressive about it if I
hadn't had quite so many close escapes.

> Did you actually make eye contact with the driver in his
> near side mirror ? Are you sure he actually saw you?
> That's no excuse admittedly, but its maybe more comforting
> than automatically assuming evil intent.

I rank not checking mirrors as evil intent. 7.5T+ of metal
being moved around the roads should be a cause for concern.
Edinburgh seems to have gained a new shift of bus drivers
recently because I've noticed more stupid / bad driving from
them in the last week than over the preceding two months.

> As you sensed the bus drawing closer did you try and take
> any preventive measures? Did you for instance bang on the
> side with side of the bus, with your hand ? This is a
> useful thing to learn as it immediately alerts the driver,
> if he didn't already know, the passengers, and anyone on
> the pavemnet at the time, to the fact that something is
> going on. It's a more neutral sound than shouting which
> can came from any source and immediately denotes anger and
> unreasonableness.

As a general rule, when people try to kill _me_, I get
angry. That seems reasonable. Banging on vehicles is a
better strategy, but often both hands are engaged in "death
avoidance" and kicking at things could well prove fatal.

> Don't be reluctant to do this to cars either where
> necessary, but maybe not quite so loud or angrily. They're
> in the wrong, end of story. Normally a shrug to them
> afterwards in the near side mirror will do the trick.
> After they recover from the shock. Although learning to
> unhook and wield your Citadel lock within two seconds flat
> can come in useful too.

I like it. I'm still quite interested in getting a machining
company to produce some Bar-Endz (see Sheldon Brown).

Jon

On Fri, 09 Jul 2004 17:19:40 +0100, anonymous coward
<anonymous.coward@nospam.nowhere> wrote in message
<pan.2004.07.09.16.19.40.385848@nospam.nowhere>:

>How are taxis regulated? A particular company often beeps
>their horn outside my window as late as 3.00 AM, so I have
>an interest. I've got as far as the yellow pages, but
>didn't find anything that looked like a regulatory agency.

Call the environmental healtyh people. If their midnight
watch bod gets woken up often enough they could get nasty,
and they tend to be part of the same council which licenses
the cabs :-)

Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after
posting. http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at
Washington University

"Colin Blackburn" <colin.blackburn@durham.ac.uk> wrote in message
newspsa0qmsw4yxrafp@nntphost.dur.ac.uk...
> On Mon, 12 Jul 2004 10:36:06 +0100, Dr Curious
> <curiosity238@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> >
> > "Colin Blackburn" <colin.blackburn@durham.ac.uk> wrote
> > in message
> >> I was once run off the road by a bus in Oxford. The
> >> driver deliberately pulled closer to the kerb as he
> >> pulled alongside me.
> >
> > ...
> >
> > O.K so far.
>
> This incident is well in the past and has been mentioned
> here before, shortly after it happened. I repeat the story
> briefly only to suggest
that
> one course of action is for the original poster to ask the
> police take an informal approach. I do not intend to
> discuss the incident itself with a f*ckwit of your order.

Somebody however, with it would appear, infinitely more
experience of riding a bicycle in town than you have.

The example you gave merely serves to provide a good example
of how the more immature inexperienced rider such as
yourself is likely to behave in such circumstances, and can
provide a good warning to others.

And as such, it's highly unlikely that you'd have very much
to contribute to the conversation in any case.

Given that as you say, the incident happened a long time
ago and yet you don't appear to have learned anything new
in the interim.

If you wish to proceed on the assumption that bus drivers
and other road users are conducting a personal vendetta
against you, then that's your prerogative. But I wouldn't
automatically assume that many others will necessarily want
to share that view.

Have a nice day, Colin.

Curious

...



>
> Colin

On Mon, 12 Jul, Just zis Guy, you know? <outlook.bugs@microsoft.com> wrote:

> Call the environmental healtyh people. If their midnight
> watch bod gets woken up often enough they could get
> nasty, and they tend to be part of the same council which
> licenses the cabs :-)

In my experience environmental health are about as useless
as the proverbial chocolate teapot, at least as far as middle-of-the-
night noises are concerned.

We have an office across the road from our house, which over
the course of about four months averaged teh burgular alarm
about 4 times a week. Some nights it went off 5 or 6 times
in a night. Evironmental health did (roughly) FA, since it
switched itself off after 18 minutes (typically switching
itself on again later in the night) and environmental health
would only do something for a noise of more than 20-minutes
duration. The fact that it's the third 18 minute siren of
the night, and that it also went off teh previous three
nights running counted for nothing.

The building management company and alarm company were
similarly useless ("well, we could send a technician out to
examine it, but it will probably shut itself off in about 15
minutes").

It only stopped after I screamed abuse down teh phone one
morning (3 or 4 am, something like that) and assured the
environmental health person that I could and would fix the
siren box myself with a ladder and a sledge-hammer, both of
which were at that moment in my possession.

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|

On Mon, 12 Jul 2004 10:58:46 +0100, Dr Curious wrote:

> "Colin Blackburn" <colin.blackburn@durham.ac.uk> wrote in
> message newspsa0qmsw4yxrafp@nntphost.dur.ac.uk...
>> On Mon, 12 Jul 2004 10:36:06 +0100, Dr Curious
>> <curiosity238@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> "Colin Blackburn" <colin.blackburn@durham.ac.uk> wrote
>>> in message
>>>> I was once run off the road by a bus in Oxford. The
>>>> driver deliberately pulled closer to the kerb as he
>>>> pulled alongside me.
>>>
>>> ...
>>>
>>> O.K so far.
>>
>> This incident is well in the past and has been mentioned
>> here before, shortly after it happened. I repeat the
>> story briefly only to suggest
> that
>> one course of action is for the original poster to ask
>> the police take an informal approach. I do not intend to
>> discuss the incident itself with a f*ckwit of your order.
>
>
> Somebody however, with it would appear, infinitely more
> experience of riding a bicycle in town than you have.
>
> The example you gave merely serves to provide a good
> example of how the more immature inexperienced rider such
> as yourself is likely to behave in such circumstances, and
> can provide a good warning to others.
>
> And as such, it's highly unlikely that you'd have very
> much to contribute to the conversation in any case.
>
> Given that as you say, the incident happened a long time
> ago and yet you don't appear to have learned anything new
> in the interim.
>
> If you wish to proceed on the assumption that bus drivers
> and other road users are conducting a personal vendetta
> against you, then that's your prerogative. But I wouldn't
> automatically assume that many others will necessarily
> want to share that view.
>
> Have a nice day, Colin.
>

As Colin said, you are a f*ckwit.

--
Michael MacClancy Random putdown - "He has Van Gogh's ear
for music." - Billy Wilder www.macclancy.demon.co.uk
www.macclancy.co.uk

In news:ug3hw29t2m63.14sg323i9lsph$.dlg@40tude.net,
Michael MacClancy <herzelNOSPAM@o2.co.uk> typed:
>
> As Colin said, you [Dr Curious] are a f*ckwit.

<AOL/